Do you ever wonder what would happen
if we just disappeared off the face of the earth? I mean, as a species, if one day we just didn't exist anymore, what do you think would happen? A portion of this video
is sponsored by HP. So I used to live in Toronto and there was a building,
but I used to spend a lot of time in. I used to study there. I did my research there
and I did my thesis there. But a lot of people hate it,
this building. Like they hate it. This building with a passion. It was one of those buildings
that everyone had an opinion about because when you walk by it,
it's impossible to ignore it. It's this massive block of concrete
and it has a very dominating presence. It has this attitude of I don't
give a crap what anyone thinks about me, which is kind of a bizarre idea. Buildings are designed to impress people. And, you know, as architects,
we go through so many public consultations, you know,
sometimes it's a little bit of a overkill. But, you know, people actually have a say in what the building
is supposed to look like. And they have a say all the way down
to the color of the building. I remember when I was working
at my very first job here in Vancouver, we had this white
brick building in Chinatown, and the Chinatown council said, No,
we don't want this. White represents death in Chinese culture. And so they wanted us to change the color
of the building. So public opinion,
you know, whether you like it or not, it does have an impact on the building's
design. The building has to kind of justify
their presence in some way. They actually did talk
about removing this building a lot, but apparently it would take the force
of an atomic bomb to destroy this thing and it would cost more
and it would do more environmental damage to demolish it than to just renovated. And so they ended up just slapping
on a glass facade and cover it up. From a energy consumption point of view, this building is just an energy
consuming monster. It's poorly insulated,
is poorly waterproofed. This thing is just one big thermal bridge
for those of you who don't know how cold it gets in
Toronto, it gets have you ever again cold? It comes down to -30 degrees. It's brutal. It's also one of the reasons
why I left Toronto. Also, from a carbon footprint
point of view, concrete consumes so much carbon when it's being built. This building is just so wrong in
so many ways. But there is a small group of people
who seem to really love this building and just brutalist architecture in general
and I do think I get the appeal. It's the lack of pretentiousness
and it's the integrity and it's the I don't give a crap attitude
because in the end, this building is going to be here
long after my tiny little existence, and it's going to be here
long after we're gone. We are actually the temporary visitors
to this building. The thing that surprised me
the most is just the sheer speed in which nature starts to take over. Apparently,
just in the first couple of years, native animal species start to come back. Did you know that the Blue heron
is a native species to Toronto? I don't think I've ever seen
a blue heron in Toronto for to film the drawing segment of this video
I used to. 4K webcam because it allows me to film
very long sessions without having to worry about storage,
which is usually an issue when I'm filming with my phone. I use the HP 965 as a four. Can put device and Opus and attach it to this articulated arm
with a quarter inch screw hole. This webcam feels really solid
and it's swivel adjustable, which allows me to frame my shot
exactly the way I want it. The image quality is really good
and it captures all of the details in my drawing. Once everything's set up
and I need to press the record button. All the footage is going to be saved
directly onto my laptop. This camera is also really great for
video calls since it has a built in A.I. face framing autofocus system and audio
noise reduction. If you want to learn more about this
HP 965 webcam, I'll leave the link in the description. Apparently in just a couple of years, native plant species start to come back
and they start to thrive. You'll see moss and trees and flowers
crawling up buildings. All the books,
especially in the rare books library. Look at what they would start
to grow mold and fungi. And maybe it could become a really rich habitat
for a lot of different animal species. By the way, if you're interested in
any of my procreate assets, I'll leave the link in the description. The atrium. Since it connects all the floors
and has the most access to daylight, could become a breeding ground
for different plants. We see everything from a human centric point of view
and how could we not? Everything around us exists
in relation to us, and fundamentally it's a tool to serve us. Form follows function. The human function. So buildings existence is justified
as long as it serves us and as long as we like it. And maybe because we relatively
have pretty short lives, we think about the lifespan of buildings
in a very limited way to typical life expectancy of a building
is something around 50 years, and by that time
the buildings become so deteriorated or outdated that you have to decide
whether you want to demolish it or you want to renovate it. It's so hard to even conceptualize
a world without us. But in the grand timespan of the earth, and even in the grand scale of the galaxy, we are just a tiny, tiny little blip. If it happens for some freak accident,
we just get wiped off the face of the earth. Or maybe it happens
in a couple of thousands of years. Maybe it's
just the natural decline of our species, or we just end up killing ourselves. What would happen to our buildings? Which of them would become artifact? And what do they become without us? This is a new format
that I'm experimenting with again. So if you like that, if you like
this conceptual sketching type video, or if we have any suggestions on how to make
it better, let me know in the comments. And I have a Discord server. If you want to keep in touch
with the community, I'll leave the link in the description. And with that,
I'll see you guys in the next video.
The private reading rooms on the top floors are the best
I remember going in there to get my T card.
this building is an absolute labyrinth to navigate
Fun video. Thanks for posting.
always use to study in any of the floors above 10 back in the day..this was also before hte days when the private rooms had glass walls...they use to be fully concrete.
they shot resident evil in Robarts when I was going to UT, i can see why